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Electrical Wiring

Doorbell button diode Question

12 years ago

I want to replace our current doorbell button with a different one.

The door bell is 7 years old and plays the Westminster chimes. The door bell button was a decorative one I bought separately and it did not come with the transformer kit.

The door bell has two locations.

The second plays just the first four notes.

I just want to the replace the main one.

I took a look at the main current button and it has a diode attached.

My new button does not have a diode and the installation video does not show installation of a diode.

Can I use my current button's diode and add it to the new button? I assume the current button has a diode so that the transformer will finish the medley after the button is no longer pushed.

Also, the hole in the hardi plank for the existing button is larger than the new decorative button.

Any suggestions for a back plate to cover the gap and allow a hard surface to secure the new button?

I could patch the area but do not think it will look as if it was never patched and will show.

Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

yosemitebill

12 years ago

The diode is used in parallel with the switch to act as a half wave rectifier as part of the low voltage DC power supply for the electronic doorbell. These are used in electronic doorbell chimes that can be wired into traditional 24 VAC doorbell circuits.

Pressing the doorbell button applies the full 24 VAC through the circuit which is detected by the chime and plays the melody. The low voltage DC supply allows the chime to continue even after the button is released.

They are directional, and need to be installed in the direction indicated by the chime mfg. If you don't have the info, you can usually try it one way, and if it doesn't continue to play after releasing the button, turn it around.

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Comments (7)

Ron Natalie
12 years ago
No the diode is to prevent arcing across the switch when you let your finger off the button when the magnetic field around the chime striker coil collapses.

Just make sure it's installed in the right orientation compared to the existing wiring.
brickeyee
12 years ago
Keep the diode.

24 V does not produce any arcing to speak of.

The diode is likely present to make sure the buttons correctly sound there portion of the chime.
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So long as the supply transformer has sufficient amperage and the wiring of the chime setup is adequate to minimize voltage drop, adding other units in parallel works well. I have not had an installation using a diode field-installed at the door button. For terminology, using the terms "bell" and "chime" interchangeably tends toward confusion.
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Disclaimer: I know zilch about these fancy computerized doorbells. In fact I'm a crusty guy who won't have "smart" electronic stuff in my house because I don't want it getting smarter than I am. And you young whippersnappers better stay off my lawn, too. :) However, in your place I'd put the old button back and see if the doorbell makes noise again. IMO the doorbell should work (for some values of "work") on 24 volts. There's a tiny chance that the excessive voltage would cause too much current to flow through the doorbell and damage it. However, you don't normally lean on a doorbell button for minutes at a time, so the tiny chance is tiny. More likely the higher voltage would just make the doorbell's solenoid strike the chimes too hard and negatively affect their tone. Unless the 24 volts actually did burn out the chime already, it should not go silent. If it works (even poorly) with the ordinary button reinstalled, the cause is obvious. In that case I'd just return the darn Ring Thing to the store so it can outsmart someone else, but that's me. :)
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lsst
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks!!
lsst
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks everyone!

I removed the old button and marked the diode so that I would reinstall it the right way.

I noticed a couple of nicks in the plastic coating around the wire. Can these be left alone or should I wrap the nicks with electrical tape?
yosemitebill
12 years ago
Just to clarify, but I think you know, the direction of the diode is relative to the two wires - not the switch itself.

As far as the nicks in the wires, electrically, they don't really pose a safety issue but could cause nuisance "ringing" if they touched. More of a concern to me would be that if the actual conductors are exposed enough, they could oxidize/corrode and lead to failure (breakage) of the wire conductor. Rather than tape, I'd recommend heat-shrink tubing over the individual wires.
Scott_D_Oak
11 years ago
Thanks! I had no idea the diode was directional. Solved my problem by switching it around. The bell would only ring if you pushed and held the button.

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